The staples
- Ugali — a dense maize-meal side, closer to a firm polenta than bread. Eaten with your hands, used to scoop up stews and greens. It's the base of most home-style meals.
- Sukuma wiki — collard greens, usually sautéed simply with onion and tomato. The name literally means "push the week" — it's the cheap, everyday green that stretches a budget to the end of the week.
- Githeri — a maize-and-beans stew, hearty and filling, common as a lunch on its own.
The weekend social food
Nyama choma — grilled meat, usually goat or beef, is less a dish than an occasion. Ordered by weight, grilled over charcoal, and shared, typically with ugali and kachumbari (a fresh tomato-onion-chilli salad) on the side. Kenyatta Market, on Lang'ata Road, is widely considered the heart of authentic street-style nyama choma in Nairobi — you pick your cut from the butchery stalls at the entrance before it's grilled and brought to your table. Weekend nyama choma spots are genuine social institutions — expect it to come up in your first week of office small talk.
Breakfast and snacks
- Mandazi — a lightly sweet East African donut, usually eaten with chai. The default breakfast-on-the-go.
- Chapati — a soft flatbread with Indian roots, layered and slightly flaky, common at both breakfast and dinner.
- Mahindi choma — corn roasted over charcoal, sold roadside, often rubbed with a little chilli and lime.
- Chai — Kenyan tea is brewed with milk and spice, not served on the side. It's less "a drink" and more the rhythm of the day — the office chai break is a real thing, not just a coffee-break equivalent.
A bit further afield
Samosa (sambusa) — a fried pastry with spiced meat or vegetable filling, sold everywhere from street stalls to sit-down restaurants. Pilau — spiced rice, a coastal and Swahili-influenced dish worth seeking out if you make it to Mombasa or Lamu (see our weekend trips guide).
Where to actually find it
Look for a kibanda — a small, often open-air food stall — rather than a formal restaurant for the most authentic (and cheapest) versions of most of this list. Your colleagues will have opinions on the best one near the office within your first week; ask them.